DEERFIELD TWP. -- After weeks of public pressure and a lawsuit, the Kings school board voted Tuesday evening to reverse itself and withdraw a job offer to an interim superintendent.

This latest, unanimous board vote stems from a controversial May 14 board vote to hire a former superintendent as interim leader. That vote came during a special meeting that took residents and two board members by surprise.

The aftermath of the May 14 vote drew a historically large crowd at a subsequent board meeting where the board majority of Bill Russell, Kim Grant and Bob Hinman were steadfast in their unwillingness to reconsider their hiring of former superintendent John Lazares.

But a lawsuit filed last month in Warren County Common Pleas Court by a Kings parent claimed the board violated Ohio's open meeting laws by giving no notice prior to its May 14 vote to hire Lazares, blocking any public input about the hiring.

The five board members did not comment after Tuesday's vote. But the board released a statement that contended their earlier vote was legal and was "accomplished in compliance with the Ohio Open Meetings Act at a special meeting, which was called for the purpose of considering superintendent search firms and other business."

"However, in the interest of ongoing transparency and resolving the current litigation regarding this issue, the board has rescinded the previous action of appointing an interim superintendent."

Lazares had volunteered to take the interim job of running the Warren County school system for $1.

Current Kings Superintendent Valerie Browning has accepted another top position with Pickerington Schools outside of Columbus. Her last day with Kings is July 31.

The Kings school parent who filed the lawsuit in Warren Common Pleas Court last month is being represented by attorney and former Kings school board member Konrad Kircher, a vocal critic of Grant and the new board majority.

But sitting among the three dozen Kings residents at the meeting, Kircher said he was pleased with the board's latest action and now suggests the school parent may withdraw the lawsuit.

Kircher said the unusual reversal of board action was likely prompted by the lawsuit and "they (board members) were overwhelmed by the public outcry" against the surprise interim superintendent hiring.

"We are going to give them an opportunity to show us they encourage and accept public input into such important decisions," said Kircher. "We hope they will have learned their lesson."

The board announced it will publicly post the interim superintendent's job Wednesday and plans to review applications for the position at an executive session meeting, which is allowed for personnel decisions under state meeting laws, of the board on June 17.

They then plan to hold interviews on June 20 and may announce an interim superintendent during a special board meeting on June 24.